Vivid Sydney, the world famous festival of light, music and ideas, is expanding its horizons once again this year with a concept that has amazingly never been attempted before. For the first time since the festival's inception Vivid will be working in conjunction with Taronga Zoo to create a twilight menagerie of light, sound and colour for Sydney night owls to explore. The creative concept is all part of Taronga Zoo's centenary celebrations, with the lighting of the zoo occurring in conjunction with Vivid Sydney from Friday May 27th up until Saturday June 18th.

Explorers who happen to enter the zoo during Vivid Sydney will first be greeted by the most grand of light projections onto the facade of Taronga Zoo's historic main entrance. This display is guaranteed to set the scene for the colourful safari to follow. Once inside guests will witness a glow in the dark jungle with various animal exhibits to consume. The zoo's illuminated jungle trail will feature ten giant animal multimedia light sculptures in representation of ten critically endangered species from Australia, Sumatra and across the world. The light displays will not only bring necessary awareness to the public, but also represent the unique species that Taronga Zoo is committed to protecting through their non-profit organisation. Some of the captivating creatures to be included on the illuminated trail will include a majestic bright blue Asian Elephant, a vibrantly coloured Corroboree Frog, a massive Marine Turtle with moving fins, a gigantic illuminated Bilby, and a larger than life Platypus in addition a Sumatran Tiger featuring sound effects.

The extraordinary designs are the masterworks of Ample Projects, who will be announcing more unique light sculptures closer to the event. To provide guests with some idea of scale, the Bilby has been revealed to be four metres high with the moving Marine Turtle being five metres wide. Taronga's ten gigantically lit legacy species will also be augmented by a supporting cast equally illuminated creatures including echidnas, cicadas, chameleons and even a technicoloured funnel-web spider. The illuminated pathway will also be adorned with thousands of smaller lanterns made by school students across New South Wales to commemorate the zoo's centenary year.

Vivid at Taronga Zoo

Various food and beverage venues will also be open until late throughout the zoo, allowing explorers to take full advantage of the highly unique dining opportunity encompassing views all the way to Sydney Harbour. Taronga Zoo's exclusive retail outlets will also be open until late, so revellers can purchase souvenirs and other wildlife memorabilia in support of endangered species around the world.

As an added bonus, the funds from every ticket purchased will help support Taronga Zoo's wildlife conservation efforts and future preservation programs. There will also be a limited allocation of tickets each night that include a round trip on Taronga's Sky Safari, giving explorers a bird's eye perspective of the light trail. These ANZ Blue Pass tickets can be purchased online for each night of the festival.

Tickets are available online here. Adult tickets cost $17.95, with children and consession tickets costing $11.95. Children 4 years old and under are free. For more information visit the Vivid at Taronga Zoo webpage here.